Chapter 8 - PIER 19
Dante refused to take me to Pier 19.
So I stole his car.
Technically, I stole one of his cars.
There were six in the garage.
I made it three blocks before a black SUV boxed me in.
Dante got out looking furious.
"What the hell are you doing?"
"Going to the pier."
"No."
"He's talking about my mother."
"He is manipulating you."
"Maybe."
I stepped toward him.
"But I spent half my life believing lies."
Dante's anger faded.
"I'm done letting men decide which truths I'm allowed to know."
That hit him.
He looked away.
Then sighed.
"You're impossible."
"So I've heard."
"You don't go anywhere alone."
"Fine."
"And you wear a vest."
"Fine."
"And you do exactly what I say."
"Absolutely not."
His mouth almost twitched.
"Get in."
At 11:42 p.m., we reached Pier 19.
Rain hammered the abandoned warehouses.
Dante brought eight armed men.
Enzo stayed behind with Rosa and Nolan.
Inside Warehouse Four, one light burned.
Salvatore wasn't there.
A projector sat on a table.
When we approached, it switched on.
My mother's face appeared on the wall.
Younger.
Terrified.
I stopped breathing.
The recording was dated eleven years earlier.
My mother looked directly into the camera.
"Claire, if you're seeing this, I'm sorry."
My knees almost failed.
She continued.
"Your father discovered something horrible. He gave me evidence. Salvatore Moretti wanted it back."
Dante looked sick.
"He promised he'd leave us alone if I gave it to him."
My mother began crying.
"I lied."
Her voice cracked.
"I told him Thomas destroyed everything."
A door slammed behind us.
Gunfire erupted.
Dante tackled me behind a metal container.
"Down!"
Bullets tore through the warehouse.
His men returned fire.
"Stay here!"
Dante ran.
I crouched, hands over my ears.
Then someone grabbed me from behind.
I screamed.
A cloth covered my mouth.
I bit down.
The man cursed.
I elbowed him and ran.
He caught my jacket.
I spun and struck him with a metal flashlight from the floor.
He collapsed.
For the first time in my life, I didn't freeze.
"Claire!"
Dante appeared.
"I'm okay."
He grabbed my shoulders.
"Are you hit?"
"No."
His hands moved over my arms, face, shoulders.
"I'm fine."
He pulled me against him.
Not romantic.
Not possessive.
Relieved.
Then the projector started again.
My mother's voice filled the warehouse.
"The evidence isn't in a safe."
We turned.
"I hid it where Salvatore would never look."
She lifted my childhood silver compass.
My heart stopped.
"The compass doesn't contain the key."
Dante looked at me.
My mother smiled sadly.
"Claire is the key."
The recording ended.
A second video immediately began.
Salvatore appeared.
Older than the photographs.
Alive.
"My son."
Dante went rigid.
"You always did choose damaged things to rescue."
Dante's hand tightened around his gun.
Salvatore looked straight into the camera.
"Bring Claire to me."
Dante whispered, "Go to hell."
Salvatore smiled.
"Before you refuse, you should call home."
Dante pulled out his phone.
No signal.
One of his men ran toward us.
"Boss!"
"What?"
"The estate alarm just went offline."
Dante's face changed.
Rosa.
Enzo.
Nolan.
We raced outside.
Then Dante's phone finally connected.
One missed call.
From Rosa.
A voicemail.
He played it.
Her voice shook.
"Dante... Enzo opened Nolan's cuffs."
May you like
Then a gunshot.
The message ended.
